Święta Lipka (, ketrzyn.pl
/ref>) is a small village in the administrative district of Gmina Reszel, within

Kętrzyn County __NOTOC__ Kętrzyn County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, northern Poland, on the border with Russia. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local ...

, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northeastern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. It lies approximately south-east of Reszel, south-west of

Kętrzyn Kętrzyn (, until 1946 ''Rastembork''; ) is a town in northeastern Poland with 27,478 inhabitants (2019). It is the capital of Kętrzyn County in the Warmian–Masurian Voivodeship. The town is known for the surrounding Masurian Lakeland and num ...

, and north-east of the regional capital

Olsztyn Olsztyn ( , ) is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with powiat rights, city with county rights. The population of the city was estimated at 169,793 residents Olsz ...

. The village is located in the historic region of

Masuria Masuria ( ; ; ) is an ethnographic and geographic region in northern and northeastern Poland, known for its 2,000 lakes. Masuria occupies much of the Masurian Lake District. Administratively, it is part of the Warmian–Masurian Voivodeship (ad ...

. Święta Lipka is known for the pilgrimage sanctuary and temple of

Baroque architecture Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the late 16th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means to ...

and its

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...

, a Historic Monument of Poland.

Sanctuary of St. Mary

According to legend, the name ''Heiligelinde'' and ''Święta Lipka'' - Holy Linden (lime tree) - referred to a tree with a wooden statue of Mary under which miracles took place; a legend exists that a convicted criminal carved a figurine of Mary and was released soon-after. As a sign of gratitude he placed the miraculous figurine on a linden tree, which had healing properties. The actual origin of the name may stem from a

sacred grove Sacred groves, sacred woods, or sacred forests are groves of trees that have special religious importance within a particular culture. Sacred groves feature in various cultures throughout the world. These are forest areas that are, for the most ...

of the

Old Prussians Old Prussians, Baltic Prussians or simply Prussians were a Balts, Baltic people that inhabited the Prussia (region), region of Prussia, on the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea between the Vistula Lagoon to the west and the Curonian Lagoon ...

. A chapel at the site was first mentioned in a 1491 deed issued by Johann von Tiefen, then Grand Master of the

Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...

. It was then part the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

as a

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

held by the Teutonic Knights. At this time it was already a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

site, with an inn. It was destroyed about 1525 during the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

, during which the region gradually became more

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

. Although the village lay in the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

region of

, the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

faith was again approved in the

Duchy of Prussia The Duchy of Prussia (, , ) or Ducal Prussia (; ) was a duchy in the region of Prussia established as a result of secularization of the Monastic Prussia, the territory that remained under the control of the State of the Teutonic Order until t ...

in 1605. The chapel was rebuilt by the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

and consecrated in 1619 by the Warmian prince-bishop Szymon Rudnicki and became a popular pilgrimage site among the Roman Catholic populace of the surrounding counties and other parts of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

, as well as the Lutheran

Masurians The Masurians or Mazurs (; ; Masurian dialects, Masurian: ''Mazurÿ''), historically also known as Prussian Masurians (Polish language, Polish: ''Mazurzy pruscy''), are an ethnic group originating from the region of Masuria, within the Warmian- ...

. Among the 17th-century pilgrims was Polish King

Władysław IV Vasa Władysław IV Vasa or Ladislaus IV (9 June 1595 – 20 May 1648) was King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania and claimant of the thrones of Monarchy of Sweden, Sweden and List of Russian monarchs, Russia. Born into the House of Vasa as a prince ...

. In 1688, Warmian Bishop

Michał Stefan Radziejowski Augustyn Michał Stefan Radziejowski (3 December 1645 – 13 October 1705) was an archbishop of Gniezno, bishop of Warmia, and cardinal primate of the Roman Catholic Church in Poland. He was the son of Hieronim Radziejowski. After the death of t ...

laid the cornerstone of a new, great Baroque church, which was consecrated in 1693 by his successor, Bishop Jan Stanisław Zbąski. From the 18th century the village was part of the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

. The Jesuit monastery was abolished, and King

Frederick II of Prussia Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself '' King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prus ...

allowed the Jesuits to stay only as secular administrators of the church complex. Franciszek Ksawery Rymkiewicz became the first post-Jesuit parish priest. From 1871 to 1945 the village was part of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, administratively located within the province of

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

. After the defeat of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, in 1945, the village along with Masuria became again part of Poland.

References

External links

*
Official site

{{Authority control Villages in Kętrzyn County